00:00Taking you up to 6.15 today, Grant and Danny on the fan.
00:04Coming up in 30 minutes, we'll talk Alex Ovechkin's future.
00:08We're going to tap into the hockey mind of Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.com.
00:13But right now, a day away from the NFL draft,
00:16we welcome onto the show former NFL linebacker Brian Jones,
00:19a college football studio analyst for CBS Sports and the CBS Sports Network.
00:25Brian, you're on in the nation's capital.
00:27We're Grant and Danny.
00:27How are you?
00:29Grant and Danny.
00:31Go Cowboys, baby.
00:32No, you've got that wrong section.
00:37You chose violence today.
00:39You just woke up and chose violence.
00:45I chose comedy.
00:47How are you guys doing?
00:48Tip of the cap.
00:49We are good.
00:49How are you, sir?
00:50It's good to talk to you.
00:51I am outstanding.
00:54So why don't we begin with, I want to get your thoughts.
00:56You cover the game so close at the collegiate level.
00:59Are there guys in this class that you remember throughout the year kind of thinking maybe,
01:04oh, he's a pretty good player.
01:06Now, all of a sudden, everybody's talking like they're the next can't miss guy or they're in
01:09the top five or top ten in the country.
01:11And you're going, how did we get here?
01:13I watched him play.
01:14Does that happen in this pre-draft process at all?
01:18That does happen.
01:20I haven't noticed that thus far in my research and what I'm hearing.
01:25But when you get to, you're drilling down and doing your due diligence and distilling information
01:34and film as much as these scouts do, because they're looking under every nook and cranny
01:40and that they're identifying and critiquing every step you take, sometimes it can be overkill.
01:46Where I come down on it is turn on that film and can the guy play?
01:51Can he ball?
01:52He doesn't have to have the fastest 40 time.
01:54When I look at, say, a backer like Jacob Rodriguez, he's not going to blow you away with those
01:58metrics, but when I turn on that damn film, he's everywhere and he's making plays.
02:03And that's what stands out to me.
02:05And he's making those plays versus stellar competition.
02:08So that's what I look for.
02:11And so, you know, guys can come out and they can have those gaudy numbers and they might
02:17check the boxes for his size for a certain position and they may not have had the opportunity.
02:22You know, I've been talking all day about a quarterback here in Austin, excuse me, a wide
02:28receiver here in Austin that Texas got through the transfer portal, Cam Coleman.
02:32I think this guy is as good as Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State, but he can't spell quarterback
02:38because he hadn't had one the last two years at Auburn.
02:41Now he has one in Arch Manning.
02:43So I think he's going to light it up along with Ryan Wingo.
02:46So it depends on, you know, what you've been dealing with at the collegiate level.
02:50Maybe you're a sleeper because you just haven't had the necessary people around you to bring
02:57out and foster the type of talent that you actually possess.
03:02Brian, who are the best players that you got to see this year through your study, through
03:05your role in the studio, just in watching games?
03:09Woo, man, you're asking a lot of this old brain.
03:14Of course, you got to start with Indiana.
03:16We took our show on the road when Indiana was at Oregon.
03:20And, you know, a couple of players there on both sides of the field, you know, first with
03:27Mendoza.
03:28I think he's a pro's pro.
03:30And I think he's going through a great situation there with the Raiders.
03:33You know, sit and learn from Kirk Cousins, a guy who's been in the league a long, long
03:40time.
03:40And, you know, showing up that offensive line.
03:43He's got a running back in Ashton Gentry.
03:45I thought he was exceptional.
03:46I think the receivers he had there as well, Elijah Surratt and Omar Cooper Jr.
03:51I think people are sleeping on them.
03:53Those are some good players.
03:55And the way they went about their business just reminded me of the NFL.
04:00I mean, these guys are just efficient.
04:01And they're not flashy, but they produce, as I was saying earlier.
04:06That's the key.
04:07And it's for Oregon, the tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
04:11This dude, I call him baby Jurassic.
04:13I mean, his sweat has muscles.
04:16And what I love about him is not that, you know, you can spread him out.
04:19You can put him at slot.
04:20You can put him out wide.
04:22He's a fluid pass catcher.
04:24But he enjoys blocking.
04:27Go figure.
04:27He's a guy, very athletic, but yet, you turn on the film, and, man, he's driving defenders through the back
04:34of the end zone.
04:35I mean, 20 yards, staying engaged.
04:38So, you like a complete player like that.
04:42You know, this Reuben Bain kid, speaking of picking and poking and coming up with stuff.
04:47They're talking about his short arms.
04:50It flexed enough for him to kick ass in all those playoff games, even the national title game that they
04:56lost to Indiana.
04:59This kid, just go back and look at history.
05:03And, you know, Dwight Freeney's in the Hall of Fame, am I correct?
05:06He wasn't above 6'3".
05:08He didn't even sniff 6'3".
05:10His teammate, Robert Mathis, who's the career leader in sacks for the Colts, he was under 6'3".
05:17So, those type of guys can make it in this league, and I think Bain is going to be one
05:21of those guys.
05:22And I love his motor.
05:24At the receiver position, my guy is Makai Lemon, USC.
05:30Oh, man, he just wows you.
05:32He has a tenacity that you don't normally see with wide receivers, and there ain't no 50-50 ball, guys.
05:42It's my ball.
05:43That's how he plays, and I love that about him.
05:46And you turn on the tape, and whether receivers, defenders, or Drake on him are in close vicinity,
05:54he's still coming down with the rock.
05:57So, those are some guys that I really dig.
06:00You know, you can't go wrong with picking some of those Ohio State guys.
06:03Sonny Stiles, former safety, you know, two years ago, they make him a backer.
06:07Doesn't miss a beat.
06:09Arvell Reese this year.
06:10Of course, Caleb Downs, another pro's pro.
06:13So, you know, there are quite a few guys.
06:15Jeremiah Love, that running back.
06:17Dude can scoot.
06:19He's got some creativity, versatility, all you want.
06:22He's a complete running back.
06:23He can be out there on third down as well.
06:25So, you know, there's so many at our level that, to name, you know, and some of my other
06:32favorites, they're not even coming out in this draft.
06:34Brian Jones, CBS Sports, college football analyst on Grant and Danny.
06:39I want to ask you about Sonny Stiles specifically, but broadly the linebacker position, which you
06:44played, and this idea of positional value.
06:48You know, the idea that because Stiles is an off-ball linebacker, because those guys don't
06:52make X amount of dollars, you know, maybe you can't draft them in the top five.
06:56You've heard this knock against Downs, certainly against Jeremiah Love, but they might be the
07:00best players in the country this year.
07:02How do you feel about that?
07:04Well, if you've got a guy like a Sonny Stiles on Arvell Reese that can make plays sideline
07:09to sideline, they're going to be, they're smart players.
07:12They've played in an NFL system now under Matt Patricia.
07:18And one year under him, and yeah, of course, he had to pare down some of his schemes and
07:22concepts, because you don't have as much time at the collegiate level as you do at the
07:27pro level with your charges.
07:28But they picked up that system, and it went on to have one of the more historic seasons
07:34on defense for that institution and for all of college football.
07:38So that lets me know these guys are pros.
07:41They take pride in their craft.
07:43They're going to get in that playbook and learn what it is they need to do, all the
07:47athleticism aside.
07:49And so if I have a guy who can cover, because he used to be a safety, I have a
07:53guy that's
07:53smart.
07:54And I got a guy that's not going to get in trouble, and I can trust him.
07:58Man, why wouldn't you spend that type of pick on someone such as that, who can affect
08:04immediate change on your defense?
08:07Brian, as you look at these prospects, and this is rumor season.
08:11It's lying season.
08:12Everybody's got an agenda at some point, right?
08:15I mean, doesn't it feel that way?
08:16Like, there's a new story coming out that's either good or bad for somebody, or one team's
08:19in on a guy or not, or otherwise.
08:21In terms of your eval, if you're a decision maker here, how do you trust anything at this
08:27point?
08:27Like, what kind of conversations would you be having behind the scenes on who should be
08:31picked?
08:32I'm trusting what I've seen when I turn on that film.
08:35I'm trusting my eyes.
08:36And then, yeah, you have people within your network that you trust.
08:41You probably have a small circle you can go to.
08:44Hey, are you seeing this and viewing this in the same manner as I am?
08:49Is there something I'm missing about this kid?
08:51So you do your due diligence.
08:52But, you know, a lot of, as they say at NASCAR, it's silly season.
08:57A lot of this is about throwing other guys off a player's scent.
09:00You might love him.
09:01But you put that out there, hoping that that can deter others who might be, you know,
09:07viewing a player in the same manner.
09:10So that's what I chalk it up to.
09:12But what I turn on that film, and you guys know the old ad, is the big eye in the
09:15sky
09:16don't lie.
09:16I know what I'm seeing.
09:18And I don't want to see, you know, against, you know, Ball State or someone like that.
09:24I want to see them against the other top-notch teams.
09:29That type of competition.
09:31And if I can see that and I'm getting a consistent view, consistent play, consistent production
09:37from a guy, it's probably real.
09:39That ain't lying to me.
09:41Brian Jones, who is an outstanding college football analyst, always enjoy watching him
09:46on CBS.
09:47Another thing you're a wealth of knowledge on is, I didn't even realize this was a thing,
09:52but there is a new CTE drug.
09:54It's the first of its kind.
09:55What do you know about this?
09:57Well, it hasn't been approved for CTE.
10:01It's still in clinical studies.
10:03And I partnered with Dr. Christina Gavignano.
10:05She developed Varsidamib a number of years ago for a different application, but she's
10:10been testing it, especially after she detected that inflammation is the key driver in a lot
10:17of the afflictions that affect us, whether it's Parkinson's, it's dementia, it's Alzheimer's,
10:23and CTE.
10:25Inflammation is a huge driver in that debilitating disease.
10:29So it's going through, Varsidamib is going through clinical trials as we speak, and we're hoping
10:36we realize the outcomes that we think we will, and it can be utilized to mitigate the presence
10:43of the inflammation and help treat CTE in the living.
10:49That's the goal.
10:50That's what we're aiming for.
10:51So we're not there yet.
10:53Yes, Varsidamib is on the market for other ailments, not CTE and brain trauma just yet.
11:01That's why we're undergoing all these clinical trials.
11:04It would be such an amazing step forward.
11:06Brian, I really appreciate the info, man, and it's awesome.
11:08Yeah, thank you, man.
11:09Yeah.
11:10Yeah, thank you guys, man.
11:11I'm sorry for the violence.
11:13No, you did well.
11:14It was good.
11:14And we came around.
11:15We enjoyed ourselves in the end.
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